Tag Archives: home run derby

-So Kawhi Leonard was finally traded. It was announced in the wee hours of yesterday morning that the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors had a deal that would send Leonard north in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a top-20 protected first round pick that could become 2 2nd rounders in 2020 if the pick somehow ends up being in the top 20. Already we can tell that this trade is an absolute mess. First off, DeRozan was reportedly “extremely upset” that he was included in the deal because he felt he was reportedly “lied to” by the front office about a potential trade. It was also reported that Leonard was not happy with landing in Toronto, as he had made it pretty clear he wanted to play in Los Angeles. To both players I say grow the fuck up. For DeRozan, the only player who is untradeable is LeBron James and that’s because he basically acts as his own GM for whichever team he happens to play for. Could it suck? Yeah, I’ve got to imagine getting suddenly told you don’t play for a team you’ve spent your entire adult life playing for probably feels tough right now. But unless he was flat out told by the front office that he was off limits in any potential deal, then I don’t see why he should think he was untouchable. If he led Toronto to the NBA Finals, then perhaps I’d give him some more credit. But the Raptors got their dicks kicked in by the Cavaliers in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Nobody on that team is untouchable. As for Leonard, you can’t expect the Spurs to bend to your whim because you want to go somewhere else while you’re still under contract. The Lakers and Clippers do not have the assets necessary to compensate for the value lost by your departure. The Spurs need to get something in return if they’re going to trade you. Besides, your contract is up at the end up the season. Suck it up, play in Toronto (which I think is a very pleasant city), then if you decide you’d still rather go to LA, then you can sign there as a free agent. Just make sure you keep playing your ass off with the Raptors so that the Lakers or Clippers will actually WANT to sign you. Because let’s face it, these last few months haven’t been very favorable for your public image with NBA teams.

-Speaking of trades, it was announced during the MLB All Star Game that the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers had a deal in place that would send superstar shortstop Manny Machado to LA for a package of prospects, one of whom is Yusniel Diaz, MLB.com’s 84th best overall prospect. Pretty much everyone and their mother had Machado to the Dodgers pegged ever since Corey Seager went down for the season with an arm injury. It’s been a revolving door of utility guys at shortstop since then and now that Machado is there, the Dodgers will once again have a superstar manning short while they make another run at a World Series title. That is until Machado hits free agency at the end of the season, which is why the prospect return wasn’t as high as a guy of Machado’s caliber typically commands. Diaz has a ton of potential, but he was far from LA’s best prospect (Alex Verdugo) and the fact that Machado will likely only wear Dodger blue for a few months lessens the trade value a little bit. From what I’ve been reading, it seems very likely that Machado will sign with the Yankees in the offseason and will likely replace fellow impending free agent Didi Gregorius. However the addition of Machado has the red-hot Dodgers looking even better as they go for another deep run into the playoffs. Also, as a sidenote, Machado and pretty much everyone involved with him beating around the bush about the potential trade during the All Star game made for some pretty great television.

-Brewers breakout reliever Josh Hader had some pretty problematic tweets pop up while he was pitching in the All Star game, which included several uses of racial, homophobic, and other demeaning slurs. Hader has been unbelievable this season and it seems that anytime somebody’s star is on the rise, some idiotic things they said in the past seem to sprout up. MLB has since ordered Hader to take sensitivity training and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s matured a lot since those tweets were sent out and that he isn’t the person those old tweets make him out to be. But guys like Hader need to become examples for future generations for why you need to be careful what you say on social media. It’s basically like getting read your Miranda Rights. Anything you say on Twitter can and will be held against you in the court of public opinion.

-The Home Run Derby was great, particularly the final 2 rounds. I don’t care that Bryce Harper’s dad was throwing pitches before Harper’s home runs landed, which is against the rules. All in all, the Home Run Derby is meaningless, it’s just a fun experience for everyone involved. Plus, Kyle Schwarber, the guy getting screwed in this situation, didn’t care so I don’t care. If you care about Bryce Harper’s dad’s pitches, you take the Home Run Derby WAY too seriously, and this is coming from a guy who already takes the Home Run Derby a little too seriously as it is. Try and tell Bryce Harper’s dad that he cheated. I dare you.

-Darrelle Revis retired after 11 seasons in the league, most of which with the Jets. Probably the greatest corner of my adolescence, Revis’ last great season came in his lone year with the Patriots en route to helping them win Super Bowl XLIX. It also led to this great text I got from my mom the day after that Thursday Night Football game where he repeatedly got burned by Marquise Goodwin.

Gotta love parents.

So that’s going to do it for this edition of General Sports. Let me know what you think of the topics discussed in the comments section below or on Facebook or Twitter @jimwyman10.

So it’s the All Star Break and it’s technically the midpoint even though most teams have played around 98 of the 162 games. But whatever. That’s not important. What is important is that the season has reached its virtual halfway point and it is now appropriate to start recognizing who’s been killing it and who hasn’t. So without further ado, let’s get to some midseason awards as well as my prediction for the Home Run Derby on Monday at the end.

AL MVP: Mike Trout-CF-Anaheim Angels

This would be Trout’s third MVP before his 27th birthday should he hold on to the run he’s been on. At the break, he’s slashing .310/.454/.606 with 25 home runs and 50 RBI while leading the Majors with a WAR of 6.6. However Jose Ramirez and Mookie Betts are both on a tear right now and both could catch him by the end of September.

I would argue that Arenado should have won NL MVP last year but he’s picked up where he left off last season by slashing .309/.391/.585 with 23 homers and 67 RBI while leading the NL with a 3.8 WAR and playing an excellent defensive third base. Lorenzo Cain and Freddie Freeman aren’t far behind him and it’s a pretty wide open race.

Chris Sale is the hottest pitcher in baseball right now, as he has been absolutely dominating opposing hitters of late, as he had an ERA of 1.76 in June and 0.69 in July. He leads the Majors with 188 strikeouts and has over 13 K/9. However if you were to argue for Luis Severino or Justin Verlander, I wouldn’t fight you over it.

Since cutting his hair, Jacob deGrom has gone from really good to great, as he has far and away the best ERA in the Majors at 1.68 with a K/9 over 10 and a minuscule HR/9 of 0.51. As far as I’m oncerned, the only way deGrom doesn’t win the NL Cy Young Award is if he’s traded to an American League team. The Mets are currently fielding offers for him and may ship him before the Trade Deadline July 31st.

Gleyber Torres has been nothing short of phenomenal since his callup on April 22nd. He’s slashing .294/.350/.555 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI en route to making the All Star team as a 21 year-old rookie despite being in the Minor Leagues for the first month of the season. His own teammate, Miguel Andujar is also having a heck of a rookie campaign and likely isn’t far from Torres. Shohei Ohtani could also be considered but his UCL injury has a lot of things up in the air.

There aren’t many legitimate candidates this season for the NL Rookie of the Year race, however Brian Anderson has been having a pretty solid season, slashing .288/.363/.429 with 8 homers and 49 RBI. Not a lot has gone right for the Marlins this season but Anderson has been pretty solid for them.

The fact that the Rays are headed to the All Star break with a record of 49-47 despite having literally no talent on the roster should alone earn Cash the nod for AL Manager of the Year. But he’s also had a ton of success using a 4-man rotation then a bullpen day for the 5th day. The “opener” is what they’re calling it. Cash’s Rays are starting to revolutionize starting relievers more frequently and even teams like the Red Sox have begun adopting the strategy.

Runners Up: Alex Cora-Boston Red Sox, Bob Melvin-Oakland Athletics

NL Manager of the Year: Brian Snitker-Atlanta Braves

The Braves are several years ahead of schedule and the development of the young talent such as Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna, Mike Soroka, and Sean Newcomb has been huge for the rise of the Braves and manager Brian Snitker deserves a lot of credit. The Braves look like legitimate pennant contenders this season in a very wide open NL field just a year after finishing 72-90 last season and making very few significant additions in the offseason.